Against Leonard, Duran Could Take It No More

For those who didn’t see it, the reaction was generally of disbelief.

Roberto Duran? He quit?

Are we talking about the same Roberto Duran? The famed Panamanian fighter, known around the world for his great fighting spirit, his savagery in the ring?

Yes, the same. But from this night on, his reputation was changed.

It was Sugar Ray Leonard-Duran II, before 30,000 at the Louisiana Superdome.

Leonard was 27-0 before Duran outpointed him the previous June 20 at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium. Everyone, including Leonard, faulted his fight plan for that one, choosing to stay inside and punch with the stronger Duran.

Leonard announced he would fight the same way in the rematch but didn’t. Boxing smartly from outside, he was ahead narrowly on all three scorecards late in the eighth round when Duran, 29 and once-beaten in 72 fights, simply turned and walked away from Leonard with 32 seconds remaining in the eighth round.

“No mas,” he muttered to an astonished referee, Octavio Meyran.

Perhaps most astonished of all was Ray Arcel, Duran’s 83-year-old trainer.

“I almost fainted,” Arcel said. “I thought he’d broken his arm.”

No fractures, Duran said later. Cramps.

Cramps? Muhammad Ali, many pointed out, once went 10 rounds with Ken Norton with a broken jaw. There’s no quitting in boxing, right?

“At the end of the fifth round I started getting cramps in my stomach,” Duran said. “My body and arms were getting weaker.”

After that, Duran went to the airport and caught the next flight to Panama City, with his $8-million share of the purse.

Leonard, meanwhile, was annoyed at the barrage of questions about why Duran quit.

“How come no one can accept the fact I beat Roberto Duran?” he asked.

“I beat him fair and square. Let’s accept it. . . . I don’t want any excuses. I’m the champion of the world.”